


Neighbours

by Whymsical



Series: Mein Birdie [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Drinking, M/M, Parties, prucan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-28 20:09:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2745434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whymsical/pseuds/Whymsical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new man moved into the flat below Matthew's. Pity he can't seem to keep his music down to a reasonable level.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neighbours

The first time Matthew Williams was woken up by loud music at two in the morning he was mildly pissed off, but didn't actually do anything about it. One, he was still half asleep, and two, he thought it would be a one-time thing. The new guy downstairs was probably having a welcome party for himself, and once the night was over everything would return to normal. So he staggered up and blindly searched his closet for a pair of earmuffs, which he put on before collapsing back into bed and falling asleep.

But it didn't stop. Over the coming weeks, the loud music would wake him every few days. The blond Canadian got slowly more pissed off at his new neighbour, but he never met the person so he kept it to himself. Mostly. Other than complaining (read: ranting for two to three hours) to his brother Alfred about it once or twice. He'd started sleeping with the earmuffs on his bedside table so he'd be able to reach them quickly.

Then one day, he spotted a pale-haired man hanging around the mailboxes. Matthew hadn't seen him around before, so he approached slowly and quietly, trying to get a closer look at him. Normally he was near invisible when he wanted to be and therefore able to get really close, but after a few seconds he found himself fixed with piercing red eyes.

"Whatcha creepin' around for, Birdie?" the man asked with a smirk.

Matthew froze for a moment and blinked, not quite sure the albino was really speaking to him. He blinked again and found his voice. "I wasn't creeping."

An amused glint crept into the red. The man snickered and shut the mailbox. "So you got a name, or do you want me to keep calling you Birdie?"

"Matthew Williams." Matthew glanced at the mailbox and his eyes widened slightly when the number registered. One of his hands automatically clenched at his side. "You're the new guy." There was a hint of an accusation hidden in the words, but it was well-hidden.

The other man didn't seem to notice it. "The Awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt." he declared loudly, sticking his hand out. Matthew reached out to take it, but just before he grasped it, an alarm rang out from somewhere within Gilbert's pocket. " _Scheiße_." The albino gave a quick handshake before pulling his phone out and excusing himself with a muttered apology.

"E-Eh?" Matthew was left blinking at the empty space before him.

He felt reasonably sure that this was the problematic neighbour, but other than that wasn't certain how to feel about the man, his encounter with him leaving the blond a bit shell-shocked. He waited around the mailboxes for a few more minutes, but Gilbert didn't return. Finally, with a sigh he turned away and continued onto his job at the zoo.

The polar bears helped take his mind off his noisy neighbour, and he returned home much calmer. His thoughts still full of Kuma, the newest bear cub, Matthew failed to notice he was on a collision course until it was too late.

"Watch it- Birdie!" Gilbert tried to step out of the way but he wasn't fast enough and Matthew bumped right into him.

"Wh-What?" Matthew's eyes shot to the albino as Gilbert steadied him. "S-Sorry, I was just thinking..."

"Yeah, no problem, but  _Gott_ , be more careful." Gilbert flashed him a smile and leaned down to pick up the papers he'd dropped.

"Here, let me help-" Matthew leaned down as well, and ended up knocking heads with Gilbert. "O-Ow, sorry..."

Gilbert grunted and then let out a laugh as he rubbed the side of his head. "No need, really." He quickly scooped up the papers and with a smirk turned away.

"H-Hey, wait a moment!"

"Yeah?"

Gilbert turned back to him, flipping through the papers.

"Do you think you could turn down the music a little bit?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah, sure." Gilbert said absently. "See ya." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Matthew standing alone in the hallway.

The Canadian sighted and then went up to his apartment. He was surprised when, later that evening, he received a call from his brother. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mattie! How's it going?" Alfred's loud and cheerful voice came through the speaker.

"Oh hey Alfred." Matthew sprawled onto the couch, absently watching muted television while he talked. "It's been okay. There's a new bear cub at the zoo."

"Really? That's awesome, man, I'll have to stop by sometime so you can show me, kay? Did you name him?"

"They've already given him some Japanese name, but it's Kuma for short so that's what we all call him." Matthew sighed. "He's so soft, I just want to take him home and cuddle him and-"

"Mattie."

"Yeah?"

"Has growin' up in Canada made you just a bit insane?"

"E-Eh?"

Alfred laughed, but it wasn't unkind. "Next you'll be riding moose to work and pouring maple syrup over everything- oh wait, you already do that part."

"Oh shut up, you could eat hamburgers for every meal and not see anything wrong with that." Matthew jibed.

"Oi, leave my eating habits out of this!"

"Then leave out my Canadianness."

"Fine, fine." Alfred was quiet for a moment. "How's the thing with the loud music going?"

Matthew sighed. "It's still going on. But I met the guy and asked him to lower the volume so hopefully he does."

"Cool, good luck bro."

"Thanks."

"Yeah, no prob- shit, Arthur's calling, gotta go. See ya!"

"Bye." Matthew put the phone away with a chuckle and unmuted the television. There was nothing interesting on, so he just shut if off a few minutes later and went to bed.

He awoke the next morning surprised. There had been nothing during the night. Grinning, he made his way to the kitchen to make breakfast, his day so much brighter already. And at the zoo, it was his turn to feed Kuma.

"Hey there..." Matthew stroked the velvety soft fur with awe, grinning when the little bear nuzzled to him and fell asleep.

"Aww, he actually fell asleep." Tino, Matthew's Finnish co-worker, said cheerfully as he passed.

"Actually?" Matthew glanced up at him curiously. "Have you guys not had any luck?"

"No, it took me almost an hour to settle him down." Toris paused for a moment and then he smiled, violet eyes bright. "You're like a polar bear mama!"

"What?" Matthew blushed softly and smiled. "Thanks, I think." He set Kuma down into his pen and tucked towels around him.

"No problem!" Tino grinned at him and then moved off. "See you!"

Matthew nodded to him and spent the rest of his evening watching Kuma. He was entering his building when he spotted Gilbert coming down the street, his arms full of bags. He held the door open for him.

"Thanks, Birdie!" Gilbert flashed him a grin.

"Why do you call me that?"

"You were flitting around like a little bird when I first saw you." Gilbert shrugged and thrust one of the bags at him. "Here, you can help."

Matthew staggered under the sudden weight, and he gave the albino a soft glare. It went unnoticed and Matthew just sighed, following him to his door. "Gilbert?"

"Yeah?" Gilbert set half of the remaining bags into the ground as he fished around in his pockets for keys.

"Why do you have so much beer?" Matthew gestured to the bottles in his arms and the ones poking out of some of the other bags.

"Why not?" Gilbert opened the door and stepped in. "Come on.  _Und_  close it behind you."

The apartment had the same layout as the Canadian's, since it was directly below it, and it was impeccably clean. There was no sign of dust anywhere, and everything was not an inch out of its place. Matthew glanced around as he followed Gilbert to the kitchen. He set the bag on the countertop and then couldn't resist going over to a large silver cage that had caught his eye.

There were food and water bowls, plenty of swings and ledges, and even a little imitation nest. In fact, it was fully prepped for a bird, but the only other thing inside of it was a fluffy toy chick.

"That's Gilbird!" Gilbert said happily, coming over to stand next to him. He opened the cage and plucked the toy out, setting it on his head. "I'm gonna get a real one one day."

Matthew nodded and then glanced around again. "Um, I should probably...get going now..."

"Right. Sure." Gilbert waved dismissively at him. "Bye, Birdie."

"Bye." Matthew left, just managing to catch the beginning of a hockey game on his TV when he got up to his own apartment. It was a rerun but he got into it all the same.

It was nearing the end of the game and Matthew had gone into his yelling-at-the-screen mode when the sudden thrum of deep bass distracted him. He glanced at the floor in shock, almost not believing that Gilbert had the audacity to have a party that night. He tried to go back to watching the game, but now that he had noticed the disturbance it seemed to be the only thing he could focus on. He stayed on the couch for another three minutes, his fists clenching more and more, until he finally got up, roughly put on some sneakers, and marched down.

The pulsing got louder and louder the closer he got, and Gilbert's very door seemed to be vibrating softly. Matthew hesitated, but a few more pulses sent him forward and knocking on the door. There was no response, so he hesitantly twisted the knob and pushed. The music grew in volume and the door seemed to swing open of its own accord, for Matthew had let go of it almost immediately.

The Canadian could see dozens of people moving and twisting around the small space, filling it almost to bursting point. The apartment itself was very different from what it had been like earlier. It was bathed in a soft red glow now, and a few strobe lights were pulsing around from the corners. Matthew hesitated to enter, but he caught sight of a flash of white hair- Gilbert- and his resolve strengthened. He stepped in and closed the door, and then he was literally swept away.

Bodies pressed on either side of him and Matthew twisted his own into almost unnatural shapes to avoid too much contact. He soon lost sight of Gilbert, having to focus more on getting through the crowd safely than on finding the albino. The loud music and tightly knit people slightly disoriented him, and he didn't recognize anyone there.

Suddenly he broke through and found himself in the kitchen, where it was slightly less crowded. There didn't seem to be any speakers in the vicinity, so the thrum of bass in the air was also quieter. A cup appeared in his hand from somewhere, and Matthew sniffed at it suspiciously. The liquid inside was clear, and there weren't any strange scents. He hesitated but his dry throat ached, and after a final examination he drank about half of it.

Thirst sated for now, he looked around and once more spotted the mop of pale white hair. "Gilbert!" he called out, staring in that direction. "Gilbert, wait!" His voice went unheard, and Matthew groaned in frustration. He just wanted to tell Gilbert to stop being a hoser and turn the music down already, and then get back up to his own apartment.

He was distracted when someone grinded against him from behind, and he was taken so much by surprise that he actually responded for a moment before pushing away, mortified. He turned back slightly and blushed harder when the girl winked before brushing up against someone else. Matthew ducked his head and slunk through the people, ducking and weaving whenever it was necessary. His head started to throb, and it only worsened when the song changed to one with even more bass.

And suddenly Gilbert was before him, red eyes gleaming. "Birdie?" he asked, voice barely heard above the noise of the party. "What are you doing here?" It wasn't an accusation, just simple curiosity.

"To tell you to lower the volume!" Matthew yelled back, wincing when his head gave a particularly nasty throb.

Gilbert couldn't hear him very well, but he did notice the wince and he frowned a bit. He had been surprised to see his upstairs neighbour here, not thinking that Matthew would usually go to events like this. He reached out to steady him, as he was swaying. "Matthew, maybe you should go lay down, or go back to your place."

Matthew blinked and stumbled slightly. When had the music gotten louder? He would have fallen were it not for Gilbert's hands on his shoulder. "What- What's going- Why are you waving...?" Why was the room spinning? The lights were so bright, and the music seemed to pulse  _within_  him. The last thing he remembered before everything went black was Gilbert's frown deepening.

" _Gott_  Birdie!" Gilbert lunged forward to catch the crumpling Canadian, senses heightened by the small amount of alcohol he'd drank. " _Scheiße_."

The other partygoers of course chose that moment to press closer around them. Gilbert noticed some curious (and in some cases hungry) glances directed at the unconscious man, and he felt anger burning in his stomach. He scooped Matthew up and held him close, protectively, before taking him to his bedroom. That room was off-limits to the party, and it was much quieter there. He tucked the blond in and then left, locking the door. Matthew would be out for a while, and he didn't want anyone getting in.

The party seemed duller now, since Gilbert knew there was a (quite cute, actually) Canadian laying unconscious on his bed. He didn't know what exactly he'd ingested, but his pulse had seemed okay so it probably wasn't too bad. He drank some more but soon for some reason everything started to annoy him, so he shut the music off and everyone eventually left. The apartment seemed oddly quiet, but Gilbert just drank until a pleasant buzzing filled his ears and then lay down on the couch, falling asleep not long after.

Matthew woke up with a soft groan to sunlight streaming in faintly through the window. He sat up in bed and winced- his head still faintly throbbed, and his stomach was unsettled- and then froze. Looking around the room, he realized it wasn't his. Memories of the party flooded back to im and he looked down in a panic, but he was alone and fully dressed.

Slowly getting out of bed, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he could still walk despite the pounding in his head. He strode over to the door and tried it, but found it locked. Frowning, he shook it a little, but it still refused to move.

"Gilbert?" he called, knocking at it.

Gilbert, who was in the process of cleaning up, paused. He stood still for a moment and then cursed softly, jogging over to unlock it. "Sorry. Good morning!" he grinned broadly.

Matthew winced. "You  _locked_  me in your  _room_?"

"Yeah, well I didn't want anyone to disturb you." Gilbert shrugged, going back to wiping the counters and table.

"Why?"

Gilbert gave him a look. "I'm not some unawesome jerk, Birdie." he said, viciously wiping the coffee table in the living room. He was kind of hurt that Matthew thought he would have tried anything.

"Sorry." Matthew looked around, surprised to find the apartment almost fully clean once more. "Thanks, I guess. But, eh...what happened? To...me?"

"No problem. You drank something probably tampered with,  _und_  passed out in front of me." Gilbert shrugged again. Finished, he moved into the kitchen and pulled out an unmarked bottle from a lower cabinet, pouring half a glassful and sliding it across to Matthew. "Then I took you to my bedroom. Here."

"What is it?" Matthew took the glass and sniffed it suspiciously, but didn't drink.

"An old German hangover cure. My  _bruder_  sends me a few bottles every month because he knows I will probably need it." Gilbert grinned. "He's a good little  _bruder_."

Matthew smiled softly as well, watching him. "He sounds responsible." he said, taking a sip. He gagged a bit, but then swallowed and finished the glass.

"He is. A stick in the mud sometimes, but he knows his stuff."

"You two must be close." Matthew leaned against a nearby chair for support, though he already felt much better.

" _Ja_ , we are." Gilbert glanced at him. "...You should probably go home. Rest. That thing."

Matthew nodded. "Yeah, I will. But...Gil...please could you stop with the loud music? It's hard to sleep at night with all the vibrations and noise."

"...Yeah." Gilbert looked down and fiddled with the bottle before finally putting it away. He then looked up and grinned. "It was getting unawesomely repetitive."

Matthew cracked a faint smile. "Thank you." He turned and walked to the door. "I'll see you around, then?" He looked back once and thought that Gilbert looked almost...lonely and sad, standing there against the counter, but there was a smile still on his face.

"Yeah, 'course." Gilbert waved.

"Bye..." Matthew slipped out and slowly walked back to his own apartment. While the remedy was obviously working, he didn't want to push himself too hard so he regretfully took off from work (it was practically too late to go in anyway, being after noon) and stayed home.

First he simply closed his blinds and slept for a while, getting the final effects of whatever it was he had drank out of his system. When he rose again it was after five, and it was his stomach that woke him. His head was clear so after a long stretch and a change of clothes he made pancakes, as usual making way more than necessary. So he decided to invite Alfred over.

"Hey bro!" Alfred's voice once again crackled over the speaker.

"Hello, Alfred. I made pancakes if you would like to come over for a bit."

"Breakfast for dinner?" Alfred's voice quivered, and Matthew could practically visualize his shaking. "Sounds awesome!"

Awesome. The word immediately brought images of Gilbert to Matthew's mind. "Yeah. See you soon."

"Sure. See ya!" Then Alfred hung up.

Matthew hung the phone back on its hook and went back to pancake making. Not fifteen minutes later, there was a rapid knocking at his door. "It's open!" he called.

"I smell pancakes!" Alfred yelled as he bounced in like an overexcited whirlwind, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Alfred, quieter. I'm not the only one in the building." Matthew told him with a grin. He set two places on the table and placed down a platter full of pancakes.

Alfred grinned back as he plopped down in one of the seats. "Speakin' of quieter, how's the thing with the music going now?" he asked, loading his plate and immediately digging in.

"Oh, that." Matthew hesitated a brief moment while he made a nice stack on his own plate. "I think it's gonna get better now."

"Really?" Alfred looked up at him and studied him. "Well, that's good. Now tell me, whose party did you go to?"

"What?" Matthew looked startled. "H-How did you know?"

Alfred laughed. "Well, you didn't go to work today- and c'mon, I know how excited you were about that polar bear cub- and you seem extra tired and are those bags under your eyes?"

"All right, all right." Matthew waved him off. "Yeah, I kind of got caught up in one of Gilbert's parties. But I got out okay, nothing happened." He decided not to mention his impromptu sleep over there. "I'm not hurt, eh?"

"Gilbert?"

"The guy downstairs. I've talked with him a few times."

"Oh. Just be careful, kay bro?" Alfred waited, looking at him intently for confirmation, and only when he received it did he resume eating. The pancakes were gone from his plate in what seemed like seconds, and the platter on the table regularly decreased in number of pancakes as well.

"I will, don't worry." Matthew assured him softly, lapsing into silence in favour of eating as well.

"Man, those were great." Alfred leaned back, satisfied. He pursed his lips and then got up to put his plate away in the sink. Glancing at the time, he swore. "Sorry man, wish I could stay, but I gotta go if I wanna make my class."

"Yeah, sure. It's fine." Matthew was used to such occurrences; he often cooked for Alfred and Arthur. Alfred tended to go with hamburgers or mac n' cheese, while it was just better to keep Arthur out of the kitchen altogether.

Alfred pulled him into a massive hug before leaving with as much exuberance as he had come in with. "Bye, Mattie! Thanks again!" he yelled just before the door closed.

Matthew shook his head and cleaned up. It was half past seven now, so he decided to take a bath and turn in early. After relaxing for close to an hour in maple syrup scented bathwater (yes, he did have maple syrup scented bath scent- but in his defense, it was a birthday present from Alfred) he went to bed. He eyed the earmuffs lying on his bedside table but eventually decided against putting them on. He wanted to see if Gilbert would keep his word.

There was silence all that night, and Matthew woke very well rested. To improve his mood even more, when he arrived at the zoo, it seemed that Kuma had missed him and was waiting eagerly for him. Apparently the little bear had caused some trouble the day before, so Matthew was left to take care of him and entertain him all day.

The next few weeks passed in the same fashion. At work, Kuma seemed to grow more and more every day, becoming more feisty at the same time. At home at night there was blissful silence. Matthew did run into Gilbert a few times and they talked, getting to know each other more. The Canadian found that despite being so brash and loud (he was quite like Alfred in that sense) he could be quieter and hold serious conversation and was actually fun to be around.

A few times Matthew even found himself accepting an invitation for drinks from the albino, and they'd go to Gilbert's apartment for coffee. Gilbird the toy canary was always present, either in the cage or perched on Gilbert's head. Matthew thought it was kind of sad, but the little blob of yellow seemed to fit there, nestled in his silvery hair. Gilbert himself was just glad of the company, and found Matthew interesting. Despite being usually soft spoken, he had strong opinions, and once the two of them debated hockey vs. European football for over an hour.

But then the music and pounding returned, louder than ever. It was so thunderous that even with the earmuffs Matthew could hear it. He tried to drown it out by shoving his face under a pillow, but when that didn't work he groaned.

"Oh he has  _got_  to be kidding." he muttered, angrily putting on his robe and slippers and marching down. "Gilbert!" he yelled, knocking loudly on the door. "Gilbert, you promised!"

There was no answer- the music was probably too lout- but the door was unlocked when Matthew tried it, so he went in. He was expecting another mass of people crowding into every available corner, but the apartment was empty; he could see no one there when he first went in. Thoroughly confused, Matthew hesitantly stepped further in, thinking it was all some illusion maybe brought about by his tired mind and all the people would materialize at any moment. But they didn't, and as he looked around he spotted a shivering lump on the corner of the couch.

"...Gilbert?" Matthew took small steps closer.

Gilbert's head snapped up. He was hiccupping, his red eyes shimmering with drunken fire. "Mattie..." he muttered, grinning a lopsided smile. "Wha's up?" He chuckled. "Party's too fuckin' awesome for everyone else."

"What are you doing?" Matthew moved over to the stereo system and turned the volume down to a more bearable level.

"Drinking. Basking in my own glory. What's it look like?" Gilbert slurred, taking another sip of beer.

"...It looks like you're alone." Matthew said softly, stepping a bit closer to him.

Gilbert blinked and set his beer can down, his eyes glinting more intensely all of a sudden. "Oh really?" he asked in a low voice.

Matthew swallowed and backed away from him, suddenly a little nervous. But Gilbert only wandered over to the cage and took out his little bird. "Eh...Gil?"

"M'not alone." Gilbert muttered, moving back to the couch. "Got 'wesome Gil...bird." He suddenly laughed. "Oh  _Gott_ , hah! Get it, Birdie? He has  _mein_  name, except with 'bird' at the end!"

"Gilbert, you're kind of scaring me..." Matthew backed away some more. "I'll just go...now..."

"No!" Gilbert looked up at him. "C'mere. You're awesome enough to stay." He patted the spot next to him.

Matthew hesitated.

"C'mon. Won't do anything." A soft, barely noticeable pleading light came to his eyes, though his posture and body seemed to ignore it.

"You really want me to stay?"

"Yeah." Gilbert shrugged.

Matthew gingerly sat down on the edge of the couch, but then found himself pressed flush against Gilbert's side as the albino slung an arm across his shoulders. The Canadian squeaked and tensed, but Gilbert only chuckled and took another drink of beer.

After a few more sips Gilbert started talking. He spoke about his childhood in Germany, his younger brother Ludwig, and some events that had happened. Playing in the snow, going to fairs, a childhood accident that had briefly taken away Ludwig's memories. Occasionally he would drift off to talk about how awesome he was. As he spoke he drank, and not long after his finished the can he slumped to the side and fell asleep on Matthew's shoulder. Gilbird fell off his head to land on the Canadian's lap.

Matthew was frozen in surprise for a few moments, but then he sighed. He supposed the next morning would be interesting. Glancing around, he found the remote within reach and turned down the music even more. He tucked Gilbird away onto Gilbert's shoulder and tried to slip away, but the arm around him held fast.

"Oh, Gilbert..." Matthew murmured. It would be interesting indeed. But there was no way for him to move without disturbing the albino, so he just rested his head on top of Gilbert's, drifting off as well.

**Author's Note:**

> This doesn't finish here, there'll be a little follow-up story for this...eventually. I just didn't want this to be too long.


End file.
